Mineral materials such as calcium carbonate, magnesium silicate and magnesium carbonate, among others, have long been known to be effective additives for chewing gum compositions. Ordinarily, these materials are used as fillers for the chewing gum composition for the purpose of reducing cost, texturizing and softening the rubber in the gum base. Additionally, it is been known to use fillers for the purpose of holding in flavor. U.S. Pat. No. 2,076,112 discloses the use of mineral ingredients such as anhydrous magnesium silicate, commonly known as talc, for the purpose of improving the consistency of the chewing gum as a whole, and helping to hold in the flavor as the chewing gum is masticated.
More recently, dicalcium phosphate has been added to the chewing gum composition as an anticariogenic agent. U.S. Pat. No. 3,011,949, discloses chewing gum compositions containing solid powder fillers such as dicalcium phosphate, for the purpose of supplementing the supply of calcium and phosphate in saliva. This supplement helps to aid against decay-producing acids that are produced and exist in the saliva. The patentee discloses the effectiveness of the dicalcium phosphate to be easily released from the chewing gum during mastication to provide this effect. The dicalcium phosphate is disclosed as an improved source of calcium and phosphate over other possible sources.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,655,866 discloses a releasable form of dicalcium phosphate dihydrate prepared for sugarless gum. The dicalcium phosphate is coated with a water-soluble polyol or mixture of polyols, for example, sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol prior to the incorporation of the mineral material into the gum composition. This patent also discloses and claims a process for incorporation of the dicalcium phosphate dihydrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,274 teaches that gum bases containing calcium carbonate as a filler produce chewing gums which tend to lose their sweetness retention after a few weeks of storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,048 teaches an improved process for coating dicalcium phosphate with sugar such that the dicalcium phosphate will be gradually released into the saliva to contribute to an anticariogenic effect. The dicalcium phosphate is added to the gum composition and released slowly when the chewing gum is masticated.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,475, several mineral materials are disclosed as having therapeutic value when included in chewing gums. Magnesium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate and the like, are disclosed in a chewing gum composition which is capable of releasing these finely-divided water insoluble therapeutic materials into the saliva as mastication occurs. This patent concentrates on the extension of sweetening release by the addition of a second sweetener which is released subsequent to the first sweetener. The therapeutic, mineral component is coated with gum arabic to facilitate the release from the chewing gum into the saliva and to prevent the resorption of the mineral component back into the gum base.
Heretofore, there has not been a chewing gum composition which has used dicalcium phosphate in the gum base itself as a means of providing better film forming capability. In particular, none of the references suggest the use of the anhydrous form of dicalcium phosphate in any aspect of a chewing gum composition.
The applicants are aware that calcium carbonate cannot be effectively used in gum bases which contain food acidulents, such as malic or citric acids. This is because of the acid-base reaction that is produced between the mineral material and the acidulent. The result of this reaction is the production of carbon dioxide which inflates the gum package. This is a deleterious effect since the package may burst due to inflation making the product defective and subject to becoming stale. Additionally, the food acidulent is consumed in the acid-base reaction, thereby defeating its intended purpose.
To attempt to overcome the disadvantages of calcium carbonate, the applicant tried to obtain the desired film forming, chew and stability characteristics by substituting magnesium silicate into the gum base of chewing gum compositions which contained acidulents. It was found, however, that film forming properties of the overall chewing gum were not as good as with the calcium carbonate and further that a tough undesirable chew and undesirable flavor release characteristics were produced.
Film forming is particularly important in chewing gum compositions intended to form bubbles.
In chewing gum compositions intended for blowing bubbles, the ease and quality of the bubble are significant considerations and are obviously dependent on the combination of ingredients in the gum base. The gum base filler is known to play a part in the overall film-forming (bubble-producing) capability of the chewing gum composition as a whole. Films which are too thick may be difficult to form and blow into bubbles, whereas films which are very thin may produce a bubble which breaks too easily.
One objective in the present invention is to formulate a gum base which when incorporated into a chewing gum composition, e.g. in a bubble gum composition, allows for large, easily formed bubbles to be blown, while maintaining good flavor impact and release and a delicate chew balance.
It is known that chewing gum compositions containing calcium carbonate as a filler develop a perceptively harder chew after the initial five minutes of mastication. Thus, another object of this invention is to prepare a chewing gum composition which maintains an excellent chew for ten to fifteen minutes or longer.
Another object of this invention is to overcome the stability disadvantages of the prior art acid-containing chewing gums where the filler tended to react with the acid. Toward this end, the instant invention incorporates dicalcium phosphate anhydrous as a filler into the gum base of the composition.
Other objects of this invention will become apparent below and the foregoing are not meant in any way to limit the effective scope of the invention as claimed.
Dicalcium phosphate anhydrous, when incorporated into the gum base of a chewing gum composition, in the amounts specified below, produced excellent film-forming, stability and chew characteristics, in addition to good flavor impact and release.